Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Aeon Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Pcl, a
Thai consumer loan unit of Japan’s biggest credit-card company,
rose to a record in Bangkok stock trading on expectations an
increase in wages and consumer spending will boost its lending.

The shares climbed 2.8 percent to 64.50 baht at the close
in Bangkok, the highest level since the stock listed in 2001. It
earlier gained as much as 8.4 percent. The benchmark SET Index
rose 1.1 percent.

Aeon Thana, controlled by Japan’s Aeon Credit Service Co.,
joins rivals such as Krungthai Card Pcl and Siam Commercial Bank
Pcl in expanding loans to individual borrowers as higher wages
and salaries spur domestic spending on cars, motorcycles and
other consumer products. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
plans to increase the daily minimum wage by as much as 35
percent to 300 baht ($9.8) in 70 of 77 provinces in 2013 to meet
her election pledge to boost workers’ earnings.

“Aeon Thana will have strong earnings growth in 2013 as
higher income of its biggest customer base will certainly spur
new lending,” Usanee Liurut, an analyst at Asia Plus Securities
Pcl in Bangkok, said by phone today. “The company’s expansion
in neighboring countries also demonstrates a good strategy in
tapping overseas markets.”

Aeon Than established units in Myanmar and Laos to operate
lending businesses in the two neighboring countries, it said in
a regulatory filing on Oct. 12. The company earned about 40
percent of its revenue from the credit card business and 44
percent from consumer loans, according to data on its website.

Profit in the first half ended Aug. 20 jumped 37 percent to
655.4 million baht, the company said on Sept. 25. Aeon Thana’s
shares have surged 127 percent this year, compared with a 27
percent gain in the SET Index.

Yasuhiko Kondo, the company’s managing director, was not
available for comment after a call to his office.